More Chinese Misbehavior in the South China Sea

China is again pushing for a “new norm” that would make the South China Sea essentially Chinese sovereign territory. In clear violation of the United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea, the Province of Hainan has declared that, as of Jan. 1, all foreign vessels must get their permission to fish in approximately two thirds of the South China Sea including waters that are clearly within the Exclusive Economic Zones of the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, and Malaysia, an area reportedly five times the size of the state of Texas.

One of the motives behind China’s behaviour, whyhttp://asia.nikkei.com/Viewpoints/Viewpoints/Robert-A.-Manning-The-South-China-Sea-enigma-The-Fish-Imperative?page=2 it will backfire, and a possible approach to resolution.

VIETNAM: On 20 April, Six Vietnamese fishermen were rescued after their boat was allegedly sunk by two Chinese vessels in disputed waters, a Vietnamese official said. The incident occurred near Lincoln Island in the Paracel Archipelago,according to Nguyen Viet Thang, chairman of the state-run Vietnam Fisheries Society. Thang said the two Chinese boats chased and rammed the Vietnamese boat before armed assailants boarded the vessel and seized equipment and fishing catch from the fishermen. According to Vietnam’s Tuoi Tre newspaper, since March, over 10 Vietnamese fishingboats have allegedly been hit and robbed while fishing in the South China Sea.